It’s unrealistic to think that price doesn’t play a factor.  Everything hinges on the prospect’s pain, need, and/or their perception of your company’s brand/reputation.

First, let’s look at the three key indicators that determine how much of a factor price will play in any given sale.  Then I’ll share a bonus tip that will help your sales people handle requests for discounts.

Pain – If the prospect is happy with their current product, you can expect the buyer to have a “money talks” attitude.  Getting beyond price means finding a significant area of frustration.

Need – Sales people, especially those who are generating their own leads through cold calling efforts, will push and push and push just to get an appointment.  As a result, they often meet with prospects that don’t necessarily have an immediate need.

Is your service going to make-or-break the prospect’s ability to improve their business, make more money, or be more efficient?  Your ability to create a need will determine whether the purchase is “worth it.”

Brand/Reputation – This is where the underdog struggles most with pricing.  Prospects know this and often use the little guy to negotiate a better deal with their current provider.

If you are the underdog, focus on building your brand and your reputation for being different and better in areas where your big name competitors are weak!

As a business owner or sales manager, don’t be so quick dismiss price as an issue… and don’t be so quick to point fingers and blame your players.  Take each sales scenario where price is a question and apply it to the three indicators.  Focus on improving your people’s ability to uncover pain and develop needs.  Then drive an organizational effort to build brand, reputation, and GLARING differentiators.

BONUS TIP: Build options that allow the sales person to make adjustments to the product/service offering.  If the prospect asks for a discount, the sales person can say, “I don’t have a discount to offer on these services, but what I can do is remove some of the items from the package.  If we remove this item, and this item, we can get it down to the price you are requesting.”

Think of it like being at a grocery store checkout counter.  If the customer claims they only have $100 and the bill is $125, are you going to let them walk out with $25 worth of free merchandise?  Nope.  They will either come up with the $25 bucks or they’ll take items out of the cart.  In either case, they are going to find a way to make the deal happen!

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I recently attended a sales and marketing conference.  During one presentation, the focus turned to “Closing Techniques.”  The presenter shared word-for-word scripts that would lead the prospect to “YES!”

Inevitably, someone in the back raised their hand and said, “That type of approach would put me off,” to which the speaker responded, “It’s a little edgy.  You don’t have to use it if you don’t want to.”

I wanted to raise my hand and remind the “sales sniper” that the speaker was teaching us techniques that have helped him achieve a 75% closing rate!  When someone tells me they close three out of four deals, I focus my attention on taking notes… not on being “put off!”

The audience member’s reaction reminds me of the things I hear people talking about…

“People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy.”

“Be careful not to make your prospect feel like choosing their current vendor/product was a bad idea.  You might insult them.”

Selling is all about building “relationships,” and we need to “nurture” our leads.

I could go on an on with this list, but it would be ridiculously unproductive.  It’s not that these ideas aren’t valid, it’s just that they promote a weakening of the sales mind.  Nurture is a great word for my marketing team, but as sales person… it makes me want to throw up!

Why do some folks think sales people can’t do both… be extremely professional AND hard-core?  It’s no wonder so many sales people are often passive, board to death, and failing quota.

There are thousands of great sales people who are laughing in the face of weakness and closing more deals than anyone else.  They practice the art and skill of… SELLING!

Stop feeling the pressure to be a “nice” guy/gal.  Take off the straight jacket.  Go out there and be a hunter, closer… WARRIOR!

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Reader Q&A:

You could say that both view points are valid… but how do you know when the basics are still the basics… or if you are using outdated sales tactics?

What are some examples of timeless sales principles that would fall into “the basics” category?

What are some examples of dated tactics that no longer apply to today’s selling environment?

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When you win, it’s pure joy, excitement, high fives for everyone!  It also comes with a deep breath, a sense of relief, exhaustion, and the thought of, “I have to keep finding new ways to beat these guys!”

Here are two tips to keep you winning against your fiercest competitor…

1.  What makes you different and why is that better?

The worst thing you can hear from a prospect is, “That looks very similar to (insert competitor’s name here),” or they might say, “Everyone says that about their company.”  Those two statements burn me up!  They serve as a reminder that we must get better!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if your presentation looks and sounds like everyone else, your chances of winning are well… just as good as everyone else.

You need to have an imaginary sign in front of you… with big bold letters scrolling through that says, “WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?  WHAT MAKES YOU GREAT?  WHAT MAKES YOU BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE?”  Build that greatness into every presentation.  Make it a part of your story and reinforce it by applying it to your prospect’s needs.

2.  Create opportunity around your competitor’s weakness?

If your prospect says they are looking at other vendors.  Ask them…

“Who are we up against?”

“How would you compare our product with theirs?

You can learn a lot about yourself and your competitors here.  Listen closely.  Some prospects will reveal more than others.  Gain as much information as possible.  Then, without sounding defensive, and without being classless about bashing the competition, you strategically make your case.  I’ll share a couple of scenarios…

Let’s say you are going up against their current provider.  You might say…

“How are they doing with… (insert competitor’s weakness)”

“That’s an important point of comparison.  Based on (insert what’s most important to prospect on that issue).  Here’s how we handle it…”

Let’s say you are going against your rival who, like you, is trying to win a new customer.  You could say…

“How would you compare their product with ours?”

“We go up against them all the time.  I recently brought on (insert accurate number of takeaways) of their former clients and they chose us because (insert important reasons that apply to your current prospects needs).  That’s why I believe we are also the better option for you.  In fact, I’ll get you some references, former (insert competitor here) clients that will tell you why they like our product better!”

There are a lot of people who think it’s a bad idea to engage in conversation about the competition.  If you do it the right way, with class, you gain the advantage.  Your quota, your job, and your livelihood all depend on the deals you win.  There is no room to be timid.  Be professionally aggressive and crush the competition!

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In both cases, there is a common theme that stands out above all else.  The competitors all have a story… a very different yet similar path that brought them… and a reason to fulfill the dream.  When you look into their eyes and observe their body language it’s easy to see…

• They are so grateful to be there
• Have something to prove
• Are humbled by the moment
• Are driven to give their very best
• Anxiously anticipate the feedback
• Have the desire to try again
• Are better than they think they are

You too have a story… a path that brought you… and a very personal reason to fulfill the dream.  When your teammates look into your eyes and observe your body language… What do they see?

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Salespeople are under a lot of pressure to win new business.  This fact hit home a few weeks ago when I spoke to a salesperson who uses our research.  She let me know that she is expected to perform 5 demos every week.  In fact, someone from HQ calls her every Monday to find out what 5 demo appointments she has lined up for the week.  She must keep the pace.  Just 2 weeks before, her company laid off a slew of underperforming salespeople.

I have to admit, just speaking to her made me a bit nervous, and I don’t even work there!

I know she isn’t the only sales person who needs help, so I’ve come up with some ideas to help you and your sales team meet your goals.  The good news is your prospects are “hiding out” in some very public places.  When you are looking for a way in, look for a project or challenge the prospect is facing that matches what you sell!

Here are 3 ways to get the inside scoop and find new prospects…

Tip #1: Use the Job Postings

Using job postings to find sales opportunities is a true “gem” of an idea.  It’s helped us find hundreds of sales opportunities for our clients.  The key is to use a site that aggregates job openings from many places (like Career Builder, Monster, Dice, etc.).

A good one we like is Indeed.com. Once there, go to the Advanced Search function.

Next, type in a few keywords that apply to your service/product.

For example, let’s say you offer business intelligence (BI) solutions.  Type in that keyword (or similar keywords that would indicate a company is working on a BI project).  You’ll likely have to sift through a few postings, but it could prove very worthwhile. Once you find a company that is starting a project in this area, your chances of engaging your prospect will improve significantly.

Tip #2: Regularly Review Vertical & Functional Periodicals

No matter what you sell, there’s probably a monthly Magazine that matches it.  There are online magazines dedicated to IT professionals, HR, Marketing, Finance, Legal, etc., as well as magazines devoted to verticals (Banking, Healthcare, Retail, etc.).  There are even online magazines devoted to specific geographic regions.  Each magazine is packed with stories and news events for that specific area. We recommend reviewing them regularly to find timely prospects.

For example, many of our clients focus on selling to the financial services vertical. Here are the top 3 online magazines we like best for that space:

Waters – www.watersonline.com

Bank Systems & Technology – www.banktech.com

Bank Technology News - www.americanbanker.com/btn.html

There’s an online magazine(s) for nearly every area. If you need help finding one that fits your solution, feel free to send me an email at silvia@industrygems.com.

Tip #3: Read the Earnings Transcripts

If your salespeople are really looking for the six-figure (and potentially seven-figure) sale, have them read the company’s quarterly Earnings Transcripts (if the company is public).  Every quarter, public U.S. companies must present to shareholders and investors.  Those meetings are recorded and later transcribed to written word.

At those meetings, the executive management talks about their future strategies, upcoming projects, as well as any issues or challenges they’re trying to resolve. It’s a great way to find out the more “hidden” type of information – information that’s not being reported in the news.  You can find a company’s earnings transcripts at Seeking Alpha.

I hope these tips help your salespeople meet their metrics!

Silvia Quintanilla is President & Chief Sales Detective of Industry Gems, a custom sales intelligence company dedicated to helping salespeople win large deals with America’s biggest companies.  If you sell technology solutions to the Fortune 500, we invite you to sign up for our complimentary Sales Gems Triggered Events newsletter at www.industrygems.com (subscription box on bottom left hand corner) or call us today at 510-745-9956 for a free consultation. Every month we highlight the best “Door Opening” news articles that can help you get your foot in the door at a leading company.

Copyright © 2010, Silvia Quintanilla & Industry Gems. Please include this copyright notice when reprinting this article. Please link back to this site when reprinting or quoting.

Share your best practices!  What tips can you share for uncovering new opportunities and finding new prospects?

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Chad Levitt from the New Sales Economy blog recently invited me for an interview on his site.  He asked me some great questions and I decided to lay it all out there and share my perspective of what front line sales people are currently facing.  I’ve picked a few segments of the interview to share with you today…

Chad: What are some of the biggest changes you have seen in the sales industry over the past year and where do you think the industry is heading?

Doyle: The biggest changes I see involve business owners and executive teams who have decided it’s time to make significant changes to help drive sales. In the previous decade, it was easy to say, “These sales people are just making excuses,” but if you can’t retain your people and your business isn’t growing, you start to realize it must be something bigger than just a problem with mental toughness.

Don’t get me wrong, sales will always be about perseverance and working hard, but now more than ever, it’s also about being strategic, building a brand, differentiation, marketing, and most important — lead generation.

Some Sales Challenges and Sales Tips.

Chad: What are the biggest challenges you face everyday and how are you going about overcoming them?  Can you share some of your best practices?

Doyle: Far and away, the biggest challenge is getting decision makers to answer the phone.  The second biggest challenge revolves around so many products and services becoming commoditized.

More than ever, a sales person’s success is largely dependent on the leads lists they are calling from.  This used to be a common excuse for non-performers… and that’s why it’s taken so long for sales managers and executives to pinpoint the problem.  I’ll put it in perspective and share a few examples.

1. Hoovers/Reference USA – These are unscrubbed lists… unqualified leads.  It’s not much different than calling out of the yellow pages.  Sales reps have to go down these lists and hammer the phone to try and get through to a decision maker or end user, qualify the prospect as a viable lead, and then begin the sales process. These sales reps are spending about 90% of their time prospecting and 10% of their time selling and closing deals.
2. Qualified Leads – These are lists that come from any number of sources, whether it is a telemarketing team handling the process described above, to working a competitor’s current client list that somehow leaked out to the competition.  These sales reps are spending about 70% of their time prospecting and 30% of their time on follow-up and trying to close deals.
3. Interested Prospects – These lists come from scrubbing down the two lists mentioned above, it could also include call in’s, referrals, and responses to marketing efforts.  These sales reps are spending 50% of their time in front of prospects who are looking to buy right now… and the other 50% of their efforts on the traditional prospecting, cold calling, and hunting activities.

If you look at most sales reps, here’s what’s happening right now.  Let’s say you are selling for a small or medium sized business.  Most of your prospects are coming from example  number one above; mainly from extensive outbound cold calling and cold email efforts.

Sales 2.0 Trend: Your Customers Google You First.

You have a prospect who has been putting you off for three months, six months, or maybe they’ve even put you off for more than a year, but this time when you call, they are frustrated with their current provider and they give you the appointment!  They are letting you in because of your persistence and professionalism over time.  But, now that they are shopping, they want to make a good decision, and decide to also visit with other vendors. They do a search on the web to find three or four more providers and invite them to participate in the process.

The original sales person who at one point loved cold calling and the hunt is now thinking “Are you kidding me?  I’m crankin’ the phones doing all the things that in the past have made me a top performer and when I finally get my foot in the door my prospects are using Google to invite everyone else in!!!”

I don’t care how good your product is or how good you are as a sales person, when you are up against three or four other vendors, you are going to win some and you are going to lose some.  That’s what I’m talking about when I say that so many products and services are becoming commoditized.

Ok, so now that I’ve described the problem, let’s share some solutions!  Here three things that will get your people in front of the most interested prospects and result in more closed deals…

1. Jump on the inbound marketing bandwagon to build your brand and your online presence so that your company is the one popping up when buyers are shopping.
2. Get your sales people out of the situation where they are scratching and clawing through unqualified lead lists.  Develop a lead generation… lead filtering… lead management process that allows your sales team to spend all of their time on qualified lists and interested prospects.
3. Turn your sales people into product and industry experts.  When they are meeting with prospects, make it clear to the buyer… Your sales people have the most experience, the best ideas, solutions, and recommendations for meeting the prospects needs.

Chad: What are some of the biggest mistakes you see sales reps making?  What is the best piece of advice you can think of for sales reps?

Doyle: I’d say there are three common mistakes.  First is not using your CRM, which leads to weak of follow-up and no measurable pipeline.  Second, is not using an effective word-track when calling on prospects which leads to more rejection and lost opportunities.  Third, is not knowing “the score.”  I often see sales reps on two ends of the spectrum… those who think they are doing poorly but in reality are making great progress.  Unfortunately, they don’t know the score, and don’t know how close they really are, and they quit just before achieving success.  Then there are reps on the other end of the spectrum.  They are doing very poorly, but think they are doing a great job. Again, these people don’t know the score and are out of touch with reality.

Thanks to Chad for having me on the New Sales Economy Blog!  You can check out the entire interview HERE!

Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog that explores using social media, sales 2.0 and inbound marketing as a  B2B sales strategy for the Web 2.0 world.

I want to end this post by adding some “BIG Picture” clarity.  I’ll begin by telling you what this post is not about… and then share what I’m hoping everyone takes away from the interview.

It’s NOT About That…

My commentary is not a license for sales people to give up and say… well, he’s right.  All I ever have to work is unqualified leads, and I’m losing deals to all the big name providers popping up on Google, and that’s why I’m not hitting my goals.  It’s the company’s fault.

This IS What It’s About…

Sales People – You’ve got to keep pushing.  Regardless of the challenges described above, YOU CAN SUCCEED.  For example, if you are working your way through unqualified leads, you must have a system for filtering through them quickly.  Review my strategies for Committing to Your Pipeline.

Sales Managers, Executives, & Business Owners – I’m giving you a third party perspective of what’s really happening on the front lines.  Take the ideas I’ve shared, get involved, and lead your team to greatness!

So, I’ll ask the original question again, “Has sales become a role where only the elite survive?”  …and know that when I ask the question, it applies not only to the sales person… but also to sales leaders.

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My answer is “NO.”  I don’t think Sales 2.0 is about sales at all.  Think about how people on the web give everything away for FREE.  That’s not selling!  Sales 2.0 is all about marketing, branding, credibility, and positioning for the future.

So what does the future of sales look like?  Let’s start by painting a picture of what’s happening with sales people today…

Many sales people, specifically those working for small businesses, have to carry the load for both sales and marketing.  That’s not good!  There are a lot of great sales people out there that have outstanding sales skills and terrific verbal communication skills, but they are not necessarily copywriters, creatives, and marketeers.  Anything involving marketing becomes a distraction and takes the sales person further away from their required sales activities.

In addition, when a company is trying to build a brand, everything needs to be approved and standardized.  You don’t want all of your sales people creating their own stuff and splashing it all over the web.

Companies that win now and in the future will do 10 things better than everyone else…

1. They will build a marketing… lead generation strategy that will change the conversation from, “I’ve never heard of you,” to “I’m a part of your web community… I see you guys everywhere… you are all over the internet… I was doing a search for companies who can help us with A, B, and C… and I found you on the front page of Google!”

2. They will hire sales people who are highly skilled at engaging interested prospects and relentless about follow-up.

3. They will create significant points of differentiation and be able to communicate those points effectively through their sales, marketing, and services teams.

4. They will live up to their promises and build a reputation of trust, value, service, and quality.

5. They will develop areas of excellence where they stand out obove the competition… most affordable… the fastest… most customizable… best technology… most durable… etc.

6. They will have sales people who sell… and marketing people who market. The marketing team will create a web presence and build web portals with electronic tools and resources that the sales team can access to share “ready made” articles, videos, flash demos, white papers, case studies, etc.

7. They will focus on product development based on the needs and feedback from end users and prospective new clients.  Sales and service teams will find value in collecting and reporting this information… because the development team will be nimble and diligent about making improvements.

8. They will focus on people development… turning their sales, marketing, and service teams into product and industry experts.  It will help them in beating the competition to close more deals and retain more current clients.

9. They will focus on client training to ensure customers are also product experts and know how to use the product to it’s full capability.

10. They will create a culture of success, where veteran employees are the norm and new employees are surrounded by opportunity and ideas of all that is possible.

How many of these 10 points are true of your organization?

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Do you have a strategy for follow-up voice mails? How do you build on each message?

I recommend creating 5 to 10 different voice mail messages… all of which build upon the last.

I see a lot of people throw out all their “goodies” on the very first phone call… they say, “I’m calling because my company is awesome and we do this… that… this other thing… we also do this… and these other things too!”

Instead, I suggest breaking those things up into 5-10 different messages over a period of time.  Each new message should build upon the last… so you can say something like, “On my last message, I told you about (keep this part very short)… another idea I have for you is (keep this part very targeted)…”

Here’s an example of why I mean by targeted… “Joe, Doyle Slayton with SalesBlogcast, I’m calling to share some ideas that will help you generate more qualified leads for your sales team.  I’ve helped some clients double and even triple their lead flow within the first 30 days!  Call me at…

Then there’s the next message… “Joe, Doyle Slayton with SalesBlogcast again, the last time I called I told you about my ideas for helping you generate more qualified leads for your sales team.  I also have strategies that help my clients improve conversion rates by as much as 20%!  We need to talk… call me at…

Do you say anything special after five or six messages where there is still no response?

I think it’s a good idea to use the “this is my last attempt” technique.

I might say, “Hi Susan, Doyle Slayton with SalesBlogcast.  I’m, trying one last time to reach you.  Although I’m interested in working with you, I’ve left multiple messages and emails with no response.  If you’ve just been too busy to talk please let me know if I should try you at some point in the future…”

You could leave this as a voice mail… but I would definitely send it as an email… it should get a response if there’s any interest at all.

What about the gatekeeper… how do I handle that communication each time I call?

Well, let’s define gatekeeper…

Switchboard operator at a very large company - All you want them to do is put you through.

Receptionist at a small company - Build some rapport… play “detective” and get them to provide you with new information and insights to help you get in the door.

Executive Assistants – Build rapport… share funny stories… earn their trust and work with them to help you get on the decision maker’s calendar.

Functionary – Get them to love your product and be your cheerleader.  If an unreasonable amount of time goes by without them putting you in front of the decision maker… go over their head.  Instead of asking for the functionary when you call… just ask for the decision maker.

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Leadership – It begins with head coach Sean Payton.   He is a great decision maker and understands how to rally people around a cause.

Commitment – When you think of the Saints, you think of a team who is committed to something greater than any one individual on the team.  It was never just about winning the Super Bowl.  It was about a history of struggle and relentless perseverance.

Gratitude – At the end of the game, it was special to see Drew Brees holding his baby boy.  As Drew looked around the stadium and back at his son, he had tears in his eyes.  He was a grateful champion.

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